A Thanksgiving Message from Your Union
This Thanksgiving, we reflect on our gratitude for the opportunity to represent tens of thousands of union members across Alberta. We also reflect on our thankfulness for recent victories and recognize the work still to be done.
Since the onset of an affordability crisis, your union has relentlessly pressed companies and government to address the needs of Albertans. That crisis has only hardened over time, leaving some ten million Canadians in food-insecure households.
We are all too aware of how this crisis continues to impact the lives of many of our members. We have made affordability a central issue in bargaining at every workplace. We have fought hard to secure contracts that better address the needs of workers. And we will continue working to make life more affordable for our members and all Alberta workers.
Your union’s efforts have yielded some victories.
While we didn’t get everything we wanted for Safeway workers after a year of difficult bargaining that included a strike vote, we did push Sobeys to make an offer that 91% of voting members endorsed and ratified. This new union contract includes improvements unique among collective agreements across North America.
We are thankful for the strength and engagement our members showed, and we are buoyed by that momentum going into major bargaining at Superstore, Cargill, Olymel, and other workplaces around the province.
This Thanksgiving also takes place at a very tense moment in Alberta politics, as a “referendum” on a number of divisive questions — including separation from Canada and the scapegoating of immigrants — continues to unfold. This is a moment to replenish our energy and dedicate ourselves to fighting back against this agenda. Taking part in initiatives like the Alberta Federation of Labour’s upcoming Fight Back Now! Day of Action on October 17 and Unity Rally on October 18, 2026, is part of how we do so.
This is also a busy time for our members as meatpacking plants work to meet an increased demand and grocery stores supply the essentials for Thanksgiving dinners. We hope that despite the challenges of these times, our members can draw strength from knowing that thousands of fellow UFCW Local 401 members across the province, and the leadership of your union, stand with you and will keep on fighting for you in the months and years to come.
We’re grateful to be part of a union whose bedrock principle is caring for one another, and we look forward to continuing our work together, in strength and solidarity, building better workplaces and a better world.
In solidarity,
President Thomas Hesse
Secretary Treasurer Richelle Stewart
UFCW Local 401
Posted on: October 08,2026